A quick-thinking woman contacted a private security company after her ATM card was taken by a man who offered to help her when the ATM machine malfunctioned.
She contacted the Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) Operations Centre for help at around 11.46am on Thursday, June 6.
According to the caller, she was using an ATM at the service station in Verulam, north of Durban, when the machine malfunctioned, said RUSA spokesman Prem Balram.
“An elderly male who had just used the cash machine before the lady, offered to assist her when she could not remove her ATM card. The suspect distracted the 21-year-old victim while he removed her bank card. He thereafter proceeded to his vehicle and drove off. The female realised that she had been scammed and flagged down a passing motorist. They followed the suspect who was driving a white Toyota Corolla and contacted RUSA for assistance, said Mr Balram.
Reaction Officers were dispatched to Inanda Road to intercept the vehicle. Officers spotted the suspect’s car travelling towards the R102 and witnessed the driver discard the stolen ATM card out of the window before he sped off. A high speed chase was pursued by RUSA members and they boxed the suspect’s vehicle in on the R102 between Verulam and Canelands, Mr Balram said. The 61-year-old man was arrested. Several ATM cards, that are suspected to be stolen and cash, were recovered in his possession, said Mr Balram.
The man, who lives in KwaMashu, neighbouring Phoenix in the north of Durban, was placed under arrest and detained at the South African Police Service (SAPS) in Verulam.
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